If you wander by the softball field today you will see the framing for the new dugouts. A group of people got together and put these frames up on Saturday. The frames were engineered and cut at VMI. They were delivered here over the last week and constructed this weekend. A lot of planning and work went into this operation. Those dugouts did not magically appear. An idea was formulated, people made a plan, rough cuts were made and the frames were erected. The members of the softball team that helped with this project on Saturday did not question the engineers about the best way to put these plans together. They listened to instructions. Followed the instructions. Worked hard. The first dugout took a little time, but as the team learned and practiced the techniques the engineers gave them, their skills developed, and the second dugout went up more quickly.
I started to think about this process Sunday night. It is a lot like building a winning team. It takes a lot of people working together. The coach devices a plan for the season, gathers the equipment required to play the game, and instructs the players on the proper way to put the plan into action. This is where I some times see a disconnect at Mary Baldwin College, "Home of the fighting Squirrels."
The softball players on Saturday never questioned the engineers about how to put the plan into action. If they had questions they asked, but they did not presume to know more than the engineers. They realized that the best way to have a good dugout was to listen and do what they were told. This in no way made them lesser people, only people with less knowledge who were smart enough to follow the instruction of the professionals.
Sometimes our athletes think they have a better way to win than the coach; they have their own plan. If everyone on a team has their own plan, dugouts don't go up and teams don't win. Please understand this does not pertain to the softball team or any other team here at Mary Baldwin College, "Home of the Fighting Squirrels." This pertains to individuals on all of our fighting squirrel teams.
If you are on a team, the team comes first. The coach runs the team. The coach is the engineer; she or he has the plan. You may not agree with the plan. Maybe other people on your team don't like the plan. However, I assure you that a team with many different plans will not succeed. A team with one plan might. There are no guarantees. Can you put yourself second and fully devote yourself to the team and the coach?
I heard an interesting comment by a high school football coach a few months ago. He won several state titles at his previous school, but decided to go to another bigger school as their new head coach. At his first meeting with his players he told his players he could not guarantee a state championship even if they worked hard everyday, hit the weight room and listened to what he said. Then he said that there was a guarantee he could give them. If they don't work hard, don't hit the weight room and don't listen to him they would never win a state championship.
Ladies it is time to get on board. Join the team, not on paper, but in your heart. Place the team above your self. Listen to the coach and commit to the plan. Does doing this guarantee a winning season? No. But without it we will continue to struggle. I guarantee it. Winning does not magically appear. It takes work.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make the dugouts a reality. It's nice to have a home for the squirrels.
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